Proverbs 15:24

15:24 The path of life is upward ¹  for the wise person, ² 

to ³  keep him from going downward to Sheol. ⁴ 

Proverbs 24:7

24:7 Wisdom is unattainable ⁵  for a fool;

in court ⁶  he does not open his mouth. ⁷ 

Psalms 25:14

25:14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance, ⁸ 

and he reveals his covenantal demands to them. ⁹ 

Psalms 92:6

92:6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;

the fool does not understand this. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 4:22

4:22 The Lord answered, ¹¹ 

“This will happen ¹²  because my people are foolish.

They do not know me.

They are like children who have no sense. ¹³ 

They have no understanding.

They are skilled at doing evil.

They do not know how to do good.”

Mark 4:10-13

The Purpose of Parables

4:10 When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 4:11 He said to them, “The secret ¹⁴  of the kingdom of God has been given ¹⁵  to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,

4:12 so that although they look they may look but not see,

and although they hear they may hear but not understand,

so they may not repent and be forgiven.” ¹⁶ 

4:13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then ¹⁷  how will you understand any parable?

John 7:17

7:17 If anyone wants to do God’s will, ¹⁸  he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority. ¹⁹ 

John 7:1

The Feast of Tabernacles

7:1 After this ²⁰  Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. ²¹  He ²²  stayed out of Judea ²³  because the Jewish leaders ²⁴  wanted ²⁵  to kill him.

Colossians 2:14-15

2:14 He has destroyed ²⁶  what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness ²⁷  expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 2:15 Disarming ²⁸  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ²⁹ 

James 1:5

1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

James 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ³⁰  a slave ³¹  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ³²  Greetings!

James 2:20

2:20 But would you like evidence, ³³  you empty fellow, ³⁴  that faith without works is useless? ³⁵ 

James 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ³⁶  do not show prejudice ³⁷  if you possess faith ³⁸  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ³⁹ 

[15:24]  ¹ tn There is disagreement over the meaning of the term translated “upward.” The verse is usually taken to mean that “upward” is a reference to physical life and well-being (cf. NCV), and “going down to Sheol” is a reference to physical death, that is, the grave, because the concept of immortality is said not to appear in the book of Proverbs. The proverb then would mean that the wise live long and healthy lives. But W. McKane argues (correctly) that “upwards” in contrast to Sheol, does not fit the ways of describing the worldly pattern of conduct and that it is only intelligible if taken as a reference to immortality (Proverbs [OTL], 480). The translations “upwards” and “downwards” are not found in the LXX. This has led some commentators to speculate that these terms were not found in the original, but were added later, after the idea of immortality became prominent. However, this is mere speculation.

[15:24]  ² tn Heb “to the wise [man],” because the form is masculine.

[15:24]  ³ tn The term לְמַעַן (lema’an, “in order to”) introduces a purpose clause; the path leads upward in order to turn the wise away from Sheol.

[15:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “to turn from Sheol downward”; cf. NAB “the nether world below.”

[24:7]  ⁵ tc The MT reads רָאמוֹת (ra’mot, “corals”) – wisdom to the fool is corals, i.e., an unattainable treasure. With a slight change in the text, removing the א (alef), the reading is רָמוֹת (ramot, “high”), i.e., wisdom is too high – unattainable – for a fool. The internal evidence favors the emendation, which is followed by most English versions including KJV.

[24:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “[city] gate,” a metonymy of subject, meaning what goes on in the gate – court cases and business transactions. So it is in these assemblies that the fool keeps quiet. The term “court” has been used in the translation for clarity. Some English versions do not emphasize the forensic connotation here: NCV “in a discussion”; NLT “When the leaders gather.”

[24:7]  ⁷ sn The verse portrays a fool out of his element: In a serious moment in the gathering of the community, he does not even open his mouth (a metonymy of cause, meaning “speak”). Wisdom is too high for the fool – it is beyond his ability.

[25:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “the advice of the Lord belongs to those who fear him.”

[25:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”

[92:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “the brutish man does not know, and the fool does not understand this.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 49:10; 73:22; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[4:22]  ¹⁷ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the Lord answers, giving the reason for the devastation Jeremiah foresees.

[4:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.

[4:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “They are senseless children.”

[4:11]  ²¹ tn Grk “the mystery.”

[4:11]  ²² tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[4:12]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

[4:13]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:17]  ³³ tn Grk “his will.”

[7:17]  ³⁴ tn Grk “or whether I speak from myself.”

[7:1]  ³⁷ sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of a.d. 32, just one year before Jesus’ crucifixion (assuming a date of a.d. 33 for the crucifixion), or the Passover of winter/spring a.d. 29, assuming a date of a.d. 30 for the crucifixion.

[7:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”

[7:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.

[7:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”

[7:1]  ⁴¹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.

[7:1]  ⁴² tn Grk “were seeking.”

[2:14]  ⁴¹ tn The participle ἐξαλείψας (exaleiyas) is a temporal adverbial participle of contemporaneous time related to the previous verb συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezwopoihsen), but has been translated as a finite verb because of the complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences. For the meaning “destroy” see BDAG 344-45 s.v. ἐξαλείφω 2.

[2:14]  ⁴² tn On the translation of χειρόγραφον (ceirografon), see BDAG 1083 s.v. which refers to it as “a certificate of indebtedness.”

[2:15]  ⁴⁵ tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ⁴⁶ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).

[1:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.

[2:20]  ⁵³ tn Grk “do you want to know.”

[2:20]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “O empty man.” Here the singular vocative ἄνθρωπε (anqrwpe, “man”) means “person” or even “fellow.” Cf. BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8 which views this as an instance of rhetorical address in a letter; the pejorative sense is also discussed under the previous heading (7).

[2:20]  ⁵⁵ tc Most witnesses, including several important ones (א A C² P Ψ 33 Ï sy bo), have νεκρά (nekra, “dead”) here, while Ì⁷⁴ reads κενή (kenh, “empty”). Both variants are most likely secondary, derived from ἀργή (argh, “useless”). The reading of the majority is probably an assimilation to the statements in vv. 17 and 26, while Ì⁷⁴’s reading picks up on κενέ (kene) earlier in the verse. The external evidence (B C* 323 945 1739 sa) for ἀργή is sufficient for authenticity; coupled with the strong internal evidence for the reading (if νεκρά were original, how would ἀργή have arisen here and not in vv. 17 or 26?), it is strongly preferred.

[2:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.